


Of Guitars and Kitschy Logos

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-13 18:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18036494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: When two people who are uniquely compatible experience a moment of such intense feeling as to never be replicated, a bond forms. The hows and the whys vary but one thing has always been clear - only humans form bonds.But that was before we were aware of honest to goodness aliens living in New Mexico. Some might say that aliens are incapable of such emotions, that a soulmark is beyond them in every way.Others would disagree. And they have evidence on their side.





	1. Chapter 1

“She’s my soulmate!” Max yelled.

 

Isobel took a step back while Michael just hung his head. “What do you mean she’s your soulmate?” Isobel forced out. “We don’t-we can’t have soulmates.”

 

Michael clenched his fist but stayed out of it. Isobel had a better chance of getting a real conversation out of Max. If Michael spoke up now there’d just be more yelling. Max huffed in frustration as he turned away from them.

 

“Ten years, Iz! Ten  _ years _ . And my feelings haven’t faded one bit. The way I feel about her now is the same way I felt about her then. She’s my soulmate. And I am not keeping this secret from my soulmate, not for one second longer.” Max’s voice hardened by the end. He was almost begging one of them to argue with them but neither said another word. Michael and Isobel knew that voice well - Max had made up his mind and to say anything now would just invite an even bigger argument that neither wanted to deal with. 

 

“Fine. But I’m telling Noah.” Isobel said.

 

“It’s not the-” Max started.

 

Isobel glared at him and got into his face. “Do  _ not _ tell me it is not the same. He is my husband. Whatever connection you think you have with Liz Ortecho that gives you the right to risk all of our lives? I have a goddamn marriage. And if we are breaking our moratorium on this secret then I am telling him.”

 

Michael looked on as they held a silent conversation consisting only of glares. Eventually, Max folded.

 

“Fine.”

 

Isobel nodded then grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Just inside, she turned and called over her shoulder. “You better be right about the soulmate thing! Because if you give us up to a girl you haven’t spoken to in a decade because you want in her pants, I’ll kill you.”

 

The door slammed shut behind her.

 

Max looked at Michael, still sitting silently on the couch. 

 

“What about you?”

 

Michael rubbed his hand as he looked at Max. Eventually, he asked. “Are you sure she’s your soulmate?”

 

Max groaned and rubbed at his mouth. “Yes! There’s no other explanation.”

 

Michael nodded and stood up. “Hope you’re right. Because if this bites us in the ass, I’m on Isobel’s side.”

 

Max didn’t reply and so Michael just left. 

___

 

The topic didn’t come up again until weeks later. By then, Liz Ortecho was fully up to speed on all things alien in Roswell. Somehow, she and Max had gotten it into their heads to do more research. Together. Because that hadn’t blown up in their faces so spectacularly.

 

Michael threw down his losing hand and Isobel crowed with victory. Michael shook his head but he couldn’t get the smile off of his face. It was good to see Isobel in better spirits. She’d been in the psych ward for almost a week and it was obviously starting to get to her. Michael let her get in some good natured name calling as she raked in her winnings. 

 

“Alright, next topic. Soulmates.” Liz asked from the table they’d brought in on the other side of the room. Michael and Isobel both looked to Max before looking to Liz.

She glanced between all three of them, her brow furrowing. “What? I just wanted to know if you guys can get marks or if that’s a purely human thing.”

 

Again, Isobel and Michael looked to Max. Isobel had a questioning look on her face while Michael was just amused. He could see where this was going.

 

“What is it?” Liz asked when Max didn’t say anything. He merely stuffed his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight. 

 

“Max has a soulmate.” Isobel offered.

 

Liz perked her head up. “Yeah? Who?”

 

Michael clapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing while Max tried to cut Isobel off.

 

He was too late though. He couldn’t stop her from answering.

 

“You?” Isobel said, questioningly. 

 

Liz reared back and looked at Max. “I don’t have a soulmate. Or at least I don’t have a mark. I would have told you.” She shook her head and looked back at Isobel. “Why would you think Max and I are soulmates?”

  
Isobel pointed at Max. “Because he said you were.” They looked at each other for a beat before they both turned to Max, questions on their faces.

 

Michael leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face as he watched Max start to squirm. “I thought - because of the whole alien thing - that we wouldn’t get marks. But the feelings and everything, that was the same. Just without the physical marking of it.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his head, suddenly sheepish. “I don’t honestly even know how it works. I sort of tuned it all out in high school during health class because I assumed it didn’t apply to us.”

 

“So you just thought that Liz had to be your soulmate even though you know jack about soulmates?” Isobel asked incredulously. 

 

Max shrugged his shoulders and Michael couldn’t contain himself anymore. A sharp bark of a laugh escaped him before he could smother it. Max glared his way but Michael couldn’t be bothered to care. Part of him was furious that they were in this situation because Max was a complete dumbass but at this point, when there was nothing they could do to change the fact that Liz knew, he just found it hilarious.

 

“Ok.” Liz said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Soulmates 101. Two people, though in rare occasions more than two, can form a soulmate bond. This bond will tie them together for life. Through the bond, they can experience each other’s emotions, feel each other’s physical presence, and even communicate telepathically once the bond is strong enough. The bond forms during a moment of intense and inexplicably powerful emotion. For a lot of people it is a first kiss or a sex or some other physical connection but that’s not always the case. 98% of bonds are reciprocated but they don’t always form at the same time. What is intense enough to form the bond in one person is not always so in the other and so a bond can exist in a partial state indefinitely until it forms in the other person. Once the bond is brought to life, a mark appears on that person’s body. Some say it’s random, some say it’s significant. Sometimes they’re a matching set but sometimes they are completely dissimilar.”

 

Michael tuned out Liz’s almost scientific explanation. He could hear in her voice that she’d probably had to take a class on it in college. The way she laid out the information was practically textbook but he didn’t need to hear it. He’d done plenty of research on soulmates all on his own.    
  


He rubbed at his left hand, gently massaging the mangled limb. It had been ten years and it still hurt every day. It wasn’t allowed to heal right. He couldn’t have Max touch it or Alex’s dad would have known something was weird. And he couldn’t go to a hospital so he’d just let it heal, nothing set in its place, bones fusing together wrong. The worst part wasn’t even the constant ache though. He’d long gotten used to being in pain so that it was easy enough to ignore. No the worst part was the way the skin warped around the bones. It was scarred, almost like someone had set fire to it. 

 

His thumb grazed down the side of his hand and his eyes slipped closed. He never could decide if he would’ve preferred the fire. If the skin had burnt off his hand, then there would be nothing left. No memories. No constant reminder. But as is, as fucked up as his hand was, he still had that one thing that made it better. He could still  _ feel  _ it. 

 

Michael’s eyes opened as he turned his hand over. Distantly, he heard the others talking, but he didn’t bother listening. His whole focus was narrowed down to the small, misshapen mark imprinted on the side of his hand. What had once been a beautiful guitar was now just a couple of wonky lines but the feeling remained. A single touch and he could feel it. The bond. Alex. 

 

He pressed down harder and he felt it spark to life. It was always there, humming beneath the surface, but Alex had made it clear long ago that he preferred to ignore it so Michael had tried. The last few weeks had been hard, though. Having Alex so close and yet so far was harder than when he was in the Middle East. 

 

_ There _ it was. Suddenly Michael could feel the warmth of the sun on his face though he remained inside Isobel’s room. He felt the mild irritation as Alex had to redo the shoddy work of another airman. The sharp pang of annoyance as Alex felt Michael in the bond. Alex started to push him out but Michael resisted for a moment. He didn’t get many moments like this and he wasn’t ready for it to end just yet. Alex relented and Michael lost himself in the feeling for a moment.

 

“Michael!” A yell and a hand shaking his shoulder snapped him out of it. Max’s worried face was too close for comfort and Michael shoved at him lightly. Max stepped back and Michael took in the equally worried faces of Liz and Isobel.

 

“What just happened?” Isobel asked.

 

Michael shrugged. “Liz was explaining soulmates and I just zoned out.”

 

Max shook his head. “That was ten minutes ago, Michael. We’ve been trying to get your attention for at least half that time.”

 

“You were completely unresponsive.” Liz added.

 

Michael shrugged again. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d lost track of time while he was in the bond. “Guess you were just that boring, huh?”

 

Max shook his head, clearly disappointed in him. Michael took a moment to marvel at the idea that Max bought his bullshit so easily before turning to the women in the room. Liz was still eyeing him like she knew he had more to say but he ignored her in favor of Isobel. She’d lost all the color in her face and her hands were shaking.

 

He reached out and grabbed one of them. “Izzy, I’m fine. Nothing to it, just zoned out.”

 

She shook her head. “It was like you weren’t there, Michael. Like-” She stopped herself but Michael could fill in the rest. She thought he was having an episode like she did. 

 

He shook his head. “Isobel, I promise. I was just lost in my own head for a bit. Nothing to worry about.” He squeezed her hand, pleased when she squeezed back. She nodded at him after a moment. 

 

“Ok. If you say so.” 

 

“I do.” 

 

With a final squeeze of her hand he turned back to Max and Liz. “So. What did I miss?”

 

“Well. Max does _ not _ have a soulmark. But he did have a point that maybe, because of your physiology, a physical mark won’t appear. If any of you ever think you feel a connection with someone, we can run tests but-”

 

_ Tell them.  _ Michael started, his knees knocking into the leg of the table and cutting Liz off. 

 

_ Just tell them, Guerin.  _

 

Michael felt the air leave his chest in a whoosh. It had been so long since they used their connection to speak to each other, the first brush of Alex’s mind on his had almost escaped his notice. 

 

“Michael?” He heard Max ask but he waved him off.

 

_ You sure?  _  He sent back to Alex.

 

_ No more secrets. Isn’t that what you three agreed to? _

 

Michael rubbed at his mark.  _ Yeah but you didn’t agree to it. _

 

_ I am now. Go ahead. Get it all out in the open. Maybe it will help if we’re not hiding it from literally everyone. _

 

Michael huffed at that last bit. As if anything would help them at this point. He’d come to accept that, for some reason, they’d never be together. At least not like they should be. And he highly doubted that telling people would suddenly change that.

 

_ Fine. But stop eavesdropping on my private conversations. _

 

_ Stop leaving the door wide open. _

 

Michael slammed the connection shut and focused back on the room. Three worried faces greeted him again.

 

He took a deep breath. “Ok so yeah. We can get soulmarks.”

 

All three looked taken aback. “Wait, what?” Liz asked, shaking her head a little in surprise. Michael supposed his comment had come totally out of the blue.

 

“We don’t know that. Liz just said we may never get a physical mark.” Max added.

 

“Why would you suddenly think that’s possible?” Isobel chimed in.

 

Michael looked between his siblings. “Because I have one.”

 

Isobel looked more confused but Max just leaned back, a look of realization appearing on his face. Michael met his gaze, daring him to say something, to  _ try _ and throw Alex in his face again but Max only nodded. Only then did he turn to his sister. And boy did she look pissed.

 

He winced in preparation before Isobel even opened her mouth. “I’m sorry, what? How long have you had it? Who is it? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

 

Michael put out a hand to calm her. “One at a time, okay?” 

 

She glared at him but didn’t add anything else.

 

“Uh the what is I have a soulmark. How long is since high school. Who is not important. Why is because it wasn’t anyone’s business but ours.”

 

“What do you mean who is not important?! That’s the most important part, Michael!” Isobel stood up and paced. “How have you kept this secret since high school? Who the hell were you even with in high school? I mean, you’ve been with plenty of women since then but there was no one before-” She stopped but everyone heard it,  _ before Rosa. _ That was how the four of them divided time these days. 

 

Michael started to answer but his phone vibrated. He jumped at any excuse to escape this conversation, even if for only a moment. He pulled it out of his pocket, ignoring Isobel’s yells.

 

[Tell them everything. No point in admitting to a soulmate if you leave me out of it.]

 

He groaned. All of a sudden, Alex is Mr. Sharing. Perfect fucking timing. Michael slapped his phone down on the table, causing Isobel to jump.

 

“Bad news?” Max asked. 

 

Michael shook his head. “Nope. Just Alex.” Max hummed in response.

 

“Alex Manes?” Liz asked, her brow furrowing. “Since when do you text Alex?”

 

Michael laughed. “Since his mark showed up on my hand.”

 

Silence.

 

“Wait  _ what _ ? He never said anything about that.”

“There’s no mark on your hand.”

“ _ Alex Manes _ ?”

 

Michael waited until they stopped. When they were quiet again he held up his left hand. “It’s hard to see it now but it’s right here.” He drew a finger around the mark, ignoring the connection as it sparked. “And yeah, Alex. We got together in high school, before graduation and, well, that was that.”

 

Isobel looked at him quizzically. “But he went to war. He enlisted and he’s been gone for 10 years.” 

 

Michael nodded. He understood her confusion. It was well documented that bonded pairs did not deal well with separation especially for extended periods and over great distances. “He came back a lot more than people knew. Sometimes I went to him. We made it work enough that we could still function. The deployments did suck though. Lots of acetone.” 

 

Liz slipped into scientist mode. “Do you think it was your unique physiology that changed the bond enough to allow that? That kind of separation is unheard of between two humans.”

 

“Does he know?” Max cut in before Michael could answer. 

 

Michael stared at him. “He’s literally in my head, man. It would be pretty fucking hard for him to miss it.”

 

“Michael-”

 

“But yeah. I told him. After the bond solidified.” He turned to Liz. “And I don’t know. We think maybe? But it could also be that we never spent that much time just strengthening the bond so maybe it was weak enough to withstand the distance? We just don’t know.”

 

Liz nodded and opened her mouth but Michael cut her off. “You’re not researching us, Liz. If you’ve got questions, ask him. As his  _ friend _ . He’ll tell you whatever he wants you to know.”

 

_ Coward _ .

 

Michael’s lips quirked. Guess he hadn’t closed the connection as well as he thought.  _ Spy _ .

 

He stood up. “Was there anything else we needed to talk about or…?”

 

“Where’s Alex’s?” Liz jumped in. Michael winced, he shouldn’t have given her the opening. 

 

“I’m not-”

 

_ Tell her. So I don’t have to. _

 

“His right ankle.” Michael admitted.

 

The room went quiet again.

 

“But then-” Liz started, her hand covering her mouth as tears sprung to her eyes.

 

Michael nodded. “Yeah.” He clapped his hands together. “So. That’s enough sharing for today.” He leaned over Isobel where she sat on her bed and kissed her head. “I will see you tomorrow.”

 

He gave a half wave to Max and Liz and fled before they could ask any more questions.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Alex had just finished putting the dishes away when the knock came on the door. He closed the cabinet and leaned his head against it. Part of him had been expecting this for a week now - at this point it was almost a relief. And yet he was dreading what was about to come. 

 

Another knock, harder this time, jolted him into action. Slowly he crossed over to the door and opened it to find Liz and Maria on the other side, both women laden down with alcohol. Liz held up a six pack with a wry grin on her face.

 

“Figured if we brought booze, you wouldn’t be so mad?” She asked sheepishly. Alex couldn’t have contained his smile if he wanted to. After the grief he’d given Liz for being a bad friend to Maria, how could he be mad at her just being his friend? 

 

He stepped back and held the door open for them. Liz grinned as she and Maria pushed their way in. Alex watched as they dropped their goods on the coffee table and made themselves comfortable on the couch. He let the door slip closed and settled onto the chair. 

 

“You know it’s the middle of the day, right?” He had to ask.

 

Maria shrugged. “It’s five o’clock somewhere. And I may have no idea what this is about but Liz said it was important so, let’s have it.”

 

Alex felt a pang of guilt. He should have confided in them long before now but he was grateful that Liz hadn’t told her anything.

 

“Seriously, Alex. If you can get my mind off my mom for a minute, I wouldn’t hate it.” 

 

Liz grasped her hand and looked at Alex. He half-shrugged and grabbed a bottle from the six pack on the table. He popped it open without looking at either one of them. 

 

“Alex…” Liz said when he stayed quiet. “If you really don’t want to talk about it, we can just spend the day together. But we’re your friends.”

 

“I know.” Alex assures her. “I know, I do. I just-I’ve just been keeping it to myself for so long that it’s hard to say? But uh- I have a soulmate?”

 

Liz smiled while Maria gasped in shock. “Since when?”

 

“High school.”

 

“Wha-?” Maria started to ask. Alex chuckled and took a sip of his beer. “ _ Who?” _

 

“Michael Guerin.” 

 

Liz laughed at the expression on Maria’s face. “Guerin? Are you serious?”

 

Alex just shrugged helplessly. 

_ What is that supposed to mean? _

 

Alex started and spilled his beer. He cursed as he wiped it up with his sleeve.  _ Really? _

 

_ Oh please. Liz dragged Maria out of the Pony like a woman on a mission. I just assumed she was finally sucking it up to talk to you.  _

 

Alex rolled his eyes.  _ So you had to eavesdrop? _

 

_ I’m only returning the favor.  _

 

Alex shook his head and pushed Michael away. He wasn’t terribly successful, he could still feel him resonating just under his skin, but at least Michael quieted down. He looked back over at Liz and Maria. Maria looked worried while Liz was leaning over her knees, an amused expression on her face. When Alex met her gaze she raised an eyebrow.

 

“Michael?” Alex nodded and took another sip.

 

“Ok. Someone needs to start explaining, please.” Maria asked. 

 

Liz rolled her head over to look pointedly at Alex.  He rolled his eyes and shrugged. 

 

“Alright. Cliff notes version is we hooked up in high school before graduation and solidified the bond. While I was gone, we would meet up every few months to keep the bond strong enough not to kill us with the separation. Sometimes, we can activate the telepathic link but not often and not for very long. Liz was with Max when Michael told him last week which is why she knows.”

 

Maria leaned forward and put her beer on the table. “How-Is-” She stopped and shook her head with a laugh. “Is it good? Like are you happy?”

 

Alex looked at his hands as he fiddled with the bottle. “It’s complicated. A bond doesn’t make everything sunshine and roses.”

 

Maria nodded. “I’ve never met a bonded pair. If you don’t want me to pry just let me know but I have to admit I have a lot of questions.” 

 

That was to be expected. While bonded pairs weren’t rare, they were rare enough. And it was such a private thing that there wasn’t much research done on the specifics of a bond. 

 

_ Tell them. _

 

_ Fuck off.  _

 

_ Alex. _

 

Alex closed his eyes. Michael was right. It was past time that they were both honest with their friends. Which Alex knew when he opened the door. There was no way to do this halfway.

 

He opened his eyes and met Maria’s with a smile. “What do you want to know?”

 

She and Liz smiled. Maria clapped and stood up. “We need something more than beer. I’m getting glasses.”

 

When she left for the kitchen, Liz turned to him. “You know you don’t have to tell us everything?”

 

Alex nodded. “I know. But I’ve spent long enough telling people absolutely nothing that I want to.”

 

She smiled and curled back into the sofa as Maria returned with glasses and poured out some shots. Maria passed them out and held hers up, the other two putting theirs up next to hers. “To Alex’s bonding!”

 

The three cheered and drank. 

 

“Ok.” Maria asked as she poured out a second round. “Can I see your mark? Or is that too-” She stopped when Alex froze and Liz put a hand on her arm. She looked between them. “What? What’s wrong?”

 

Liz looked at Alex cautiously and he knew in that moment that she was never going to bring up his mark.

 

He cleared his throat and resituated in the chair. “It was on my right ankle.” He admitted. “A little green alien head.” A smile appeared on his lips without him noticing. Liz smiled at the sight.

 

“An alien?” She asked, a laugh in her voice.

 

Alex smiled wider. “Yeah,” he said. “Like the logo from the museum in town.” He clarified.

 

“Museum guy.” Maria said. Alex could read the pain on her face. Pain for him, he realized with a pang. But he nodded in answer to her question.

 

“Yeah. We had our first kiss there and it appeared after that.” He told them. 

 

“No wonder you said you would stay in town for him.” Maria joked. Alex shrugged and took another sip. “So wait, why  _ did _ you leave?”

 

Alex looked away for a moment and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “It’s complicated. Short version is my dad is an asshole and he didn’t really give me a choice.” He took another large sip. “It made things hard, being away from Roswell when Michael refused to leave. But we survived it somehow and now I’m back and it’s...weird.” He picked at the label on the bottle. 

 

“Does Michael have an alien too? I’ve never seen a mark on him.” Maria asked.

 

Alex shook his head. “No, his is on his left hand. It’s hard to see now because of the scarring but it’s there. He’s got a little guitar instead of an alien.”

 

“Why the guitar?” Liz asked before shaking her head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t pry.” 

 

“Hold on.” Alex told her. He closed his eyes and reached for Michael. It was a lot harder without a mark to physically touch but he could manage it sometimes. Being in the same town made it easier but he hadn’t tried since the drive in. It was always Michael who initiated the connection. It took him a moment but eventually he felt him lingering in the edges of his mind. It was a good thing that Michael hadn’t fully retreated when Alex pushed him out earlier. A sharp nudge was all it took to get Michael’s attention.

 

_ Yes?  _

 

_ Liz is asking about your mark. About why it’s a guitar. I know you told me to tell them but- _

 

_ Go ahead. The less secrets we’ve got the better, right?  _

 

Alex felt the connection slam shut after that. He blinked a couple of times and shook his head, the sudden absence of the bond leaving him disoriented for a moment as always. When his mind was clear, he looked back at Liz. 

 

Michael had given him permission but something held him back from saying anything. There was not having secrets and then there was baring their souls. And that moment, that moment when Michael’s mark appeared, that was theirs. 

 

Alex’s mark came from their first kiss, from the moment when Alex finally felt right and solid in his own skin. When someone he cared about returned his feelings and made him feel whole. It was easy enough to explain to the world as a first kiss that rocked his world. Michael’s was harder to explain in layman’s terms. His had appeared after that first night in Alex’s tool shed. Michael had explained to him later that that was the first time someone had given him a place of his own, had accepted him and shown him unconditional kindness. It was Alex sharing his brother’s guitar simply because he knew how much Michael liked to play. 

 

That was for them. No one else. 

 

So Alex turned to Liz, aware that he’d been quiet for far too long, and told her, “He likes guitars.” 

 

“Right,” Liz said. “He likes guitars.”

 

It was obvious neither she nor Maria bought it but neither pried and that was all Alex could ask for. 

 

“Ok. I have only one other question.” Maria asked after a moment. Alex waved her on. “And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

 

“Maria.” Alex gave her a look.

 

She took a breath. “You lost your leg. And your mark was on your leg.” It wasn’t phrased as a question but Alex understood. The doctor’s had asked him the same thing endlessly after his injury.

 

He shrugged. “It’s not an exact science so we can’t really explain how it works but losing the mark didn’t really affect the bond. Michael said he could feel the attack even though I don’t remember it. Trauma induced amnesia,” he explained casually before continuing. “Before, if we wanted to talk to each other, we could just touch the mark and the connection would be right there for us. After, well I don’t actually have a mark anymore so Michael has to open the connection. I can close it just fine but only Michael can open it. So, yeah.” He finished lamely. He’d never had to explain it to someone and it sounded terrible, the way he worded it but he wasn’t sure how else to put it. 

 

Maria stood up and came over and hugged Alex, almost climbing onto his lap to hold on to him. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, grateful for the physical comfort. 

 

“Make room people.” 

 

That was all the warning they got before Liz squished her way into the chair and latched on to the group hug. The warm laughter in the air soothed a part of Alex he hadn’t realized was hurting.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex sat up in bed as Michael got dressed. It was early and neither one of them were in the mood for idle conversation, the clangs of Michael’s belt buckle rang loud in the otherwise silent room. 

 

Alex rubbed at his eyes as Michael swiped his shirt from the floor and headed for the kitchen. It was too damn early for this, he thought as he threw back the covers and grabbed his crutches. He fully intended to get back in bed as soon as Michael left so there was no point in putting on the prosthetic.

 

The smell of coffee lured him into the kitchen. He eyed the full mug sitting on the table, clearly intended for him since Michael was halfway through a cup of his own. As much as he wanted to drink it, he’d never get that extra hour of sleep he was hoping for if he did. He felt a spike of irritation as the mug continued to sit untouched and he rolled his eyes.

 

“I don’t have to be up for another hour and I fully intend to at least try for some more sleep.” He explained, a gentle rebuke in his voice, as he sat down. They were trying to communicate better but they still fell back onto old habits. The years of being too afraid or worried or dumb enough to speak openly were hard to overcome and sometimes little things could spawn huge arguments if they let them. Little things like Michael making Alex a cup of coffee because he woke him up early only for Alex to ignore it. 

 

Michael shrugged and finished his own, placing the mug in the dishwasher and turning to grab Alex’s. He took small sips as he walked around the house, finding his boots and keys, wallet, and phone. Alex felt him waking up more and more, the easy lethargy of the early morning bond becoming rigid and more closed off as Michael prepared to leave. 

 

Michael drained the last of Alex’s coffee and left the mug on the table as he grabbed his hat. He turned to leave without having said a single word all morning and Alex couldn’t take it.

 

“Why do you have to leave so early?” He could hear the weariness in his own voice. He knew the answer but he wanted to force Michael to talk to him.

 

Michael stopped close to the door and turned around. “I’ve got an early shift and I need to shower and put on some clothes that I haven’t been wearing for two days already. You live a 45 minute drive outside of the city and if I want to be at work on time I have to leave now.” He explained it like he was talking to an idiot. It was true that Alex already knew all of these things but the tone irked him. It might also have been Michael’s irritation bleeding through but it was hard to tell. 

 

Alex didn’t answer for a moment, long enough that Michael’s irritation spiked and he turned to leave. 

 

“What if we found somewhere else?” Alex asked, stopping Michael’s hand on the doorknob. Michael looked back over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “Somewhere closer to town but bigger than your Airstream?”

 

Michael turned to him fully. “You want to move in together?” Alex hated the disbelief in his voice. 

 

“Sort of inevitable, don’t you think?” And that was the wrong answer. He knew it as soon as the words came out of his mouth but he couldn’t stop them. 

 

Michael gave him a sharp nod. “Inevitable. Right. Of course.” This time he got the door open before Alex stopped him again.

 

“And because I want to.” He heard and felt a thump as Michael’s head hit the doorframe. There was a long pause before Michael closed the door and crossed the room to stand in the entryway to the kitchen. He took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“Alex- what do you want?” Michael asked. “And why are we talking about this right now when I have to go to work?”

 

Alex shrugged. “This morning sucked.” Michael curled in on himself and took a step back. Alex winced - he really needed to stop putting his foot in his mouth around Michael. At some point he was going to say something he couldn’t take back. Something that would ruin their relationship and make the rest of their lives miserable. Because this morning hadn’t sucked. Not all of it. Michael had woken him up with soft kisses and gentle touches. But then- “I don’t like this part. The part where you get dressed in the dark and leave without a word.”

 

Michael barked out a laugh. “I’m just taking a page out of your book, darlin.” 

 

And ok, that stung. Michael only called him darlin’ in rare moments. Alex had treasured each and every one. Until now.

 

He rubbed a hand across his face. “I am saying this wrong.”

 

“You sure?” Michael bit back. He put his hat back on. “I have to go to work.”

 

“Please wait. Just let me get this out.” Alex pleaded. Michael slumped against the wall, like his strings had been cut. But he didn’t try to leave again. “These past few weeks have been hard. But you have been the best part. Hell, the only good part. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you by my side.”

 

He wasn’t kidding. While it had been great to get everything out in the open about their bond and their relationship, it was damaging every other relationship they had. Liz and Max were constantly at each other’s throats, Max’s anger off the charts these days while Liz felt rightfully betrayed and angry. 

 

After the revelation of Alex’s bond, Liz had decided that she was done keeping her own secrets and had filled Maria in on everything. Nowadays, Maria could not be allowed in the same room as Isobel. And Alex understood, he really did. Maria had been half in love with Rosa and now Maria knew who had killed her and couldn’t do a thing about it. Add in the fact that Kyle didn’t trust any of the aliens, and he and Liz were still working on a possible poison that could take them down should any of them lose it again like Isobel did ten years ago, and it was a recipe for a catastrophe. 

 

All in all, their two worlds were on a collision course and they were caught in the eye of the storm, unable to pick a side. Sometimes, Alex thought the only thing protecting any of the aliens was himself. Now that Liz and Maria and Kyle knew he was bonded to Michael, they couldn’t turn him over to any authority without jeopardizing Alex’s life too. Alex dreaded the day Liz and Maria realized that he’d lied to them too. A part of him wanted to come clean but they were both so angry and mourning Rosa anew, he didn’t want to add to their pain by admitting he’d known the truth about Rosa’s death from the very beginning. At some point, they would realize that he and Michael literally couldn’t keep secrets from each other, but they hadn’t gotten there yet. 

 

All of that, combined with having to deal with his father every day, and the only time Alex felt a modicum of peace was when he was with Michael. When the two of them could just  _ be. _

 

“We have busy schedules. And with Isobel and Max and my friends, we don’t get a lot of time together just the two of us.” Alex explained. “I want more of it. I want more of you. Your Airstream is too small for both of us and my cabin is too far away from your work. So why don’t we find something in the middle. Closer to town but an actual house.” 

 

Michael just looked at him. “You really want to live together?”

 

Alex pushed himself up from the chair before remembering that he didn’t have the prosthetic on. He fell into the table and winced as the edge dug into his hip. Rather than worry about being embarrassed, he just braced himself against the table. Michael had nearly crossed the room when he stumbled so he’d achieved his objective of closing the distance anyway, even if it wasn’t how he intended. 

 

“Michael, I love you.” Michael’s eyes widened and Alex realized with a start that he’d never actually said the words before. “I love you so much. And yeah, we need to work on things. And our worlds are colliding in a way that could ruin everything but all I can care about right now is that I spend most of my days missing you and I don’t want to do that anymore.” As he spoke, Michael closed the distance between them, his hands gripping Alex’s hips and his forehead leaning against his. Alex reached his hands up to grip Michael in return but lilted to the side immediately, Michael not prepared to compensate. Alex reached back for a better grip but Michael just pushed at his hips and lifted until he was sitting on the table, Michael cradled between his legs. Free now to use his hands, he gripped both sides of Michael’s neck and pressed their foreheads tighter together. “I can feel you in my head and in my bones, you’re under my skin and in my goddamn soul and I fucking  _ miss  _ you.” He let out a breath. “I’m so goddamn tired of missing you, Michael.”

 

Michael brushed his lips against Alex’s in a whisper of a kiss but pulled back before Alex could deepen it. He reached up and cupped Alex’s face. “I don’t want to miss you anymore either. We did enough of that while you were gone. Now you’re here and it’s felt like you were further away than ever.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“No more apologies.” Michael insisted. “We’ve both had our fair share of fuck ups. If we tried to make up for every one of them we’d be doing nothing else. Let’s just-let’s just put it all behind us and start new. Right now.” Michael pulled him in for another quick kiss. “And the first step is going to be a new place. Something that’s not mine or yours, but somewhere that is  _ ours _ .” Alex pulled him in this time, their lips meeting in a surprisingly soft kiss. There would be a time for passion later, this wasn’t it. 

 

“Ours.” Alex said when they pulled away. “I really like the sound of that.”

 

Michael’s face erupted in a huge smile that lit up his face. Alex couldn’t help but return, their mutual happiness resonating through the bond. “Me too.” 

 

Alex reached up to his own face and lightly dragged his fingertips along the edge of Michael’s hand. He could find Michael’s mark blindfolded but didn’t go straight for it. The two stayed in their embrace, sharing breath and refusing to part while Alex rubbed at Michael’s scarred hand, his touch an apology for his father’s attempt to break them apart with a hammer. 

 

Eventually, though, his fingers grazed the mark and their bond exploded. There was no other word for it. While it had been getting stronger in recent weeks, Michael hadn’t opened it fully since they used it to talk while Alex was with Maria and Liz. They’d been feeling echoes of each other through it but now, now that it was blown wide open, they could feel  _ everything _ . It was like they were one person in two bodies. Alex felt the table under his ass and the edge of it pressing into his thighs as he stood against it. He felt the brush of his sweatpants against the stump of his leg and he felt the sturdiness of both of his work boots. He felt love and joy and relief and wonder and all of it amplified beyond reason. 

 

A breathless laugh escaped him and he heard and felt Michael’s own join him. Alex let go of Michael’s hand to grab him by the curls and pull him in. They exchanged messy kisses, too caught up in what they were feeling to focus but both of them wanting to be as close as possible. 

 

After a moment, Alex reached back to touch Michael’s mark again. This time, his fingers went directly for it. Only, nothing happened. Alex didn’t think anything of it, the bond was as open as it had ever been, what more could he ask for? But Michael reared back, and Alex felt his shock and horror reverberate. 

 

Michael snatched his hand back and flipped it over so he could stare at the scarred flesh. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked as he reached for Michael’s hand. He could feel Michael’s reaction but not what he was reacting to. 

 

“It’s gone.” Michael choked out. Alex didn’t have to ask what  _ it _ was. He gripped Michael’s hand and stared at where two seconds ago, his mark had been imprinted on his skin. 

 

“How is that-what-why?” Alex got out. He reached up with both hands now and started to turn Michael’s over as if he just needed better lighting. Only he didn’t get that far. Before his left hand even grazed Michael’s, Michael’s other hand snatched it from the air and  _ oh _ .

 

Alex had almost forgotten what it felt like to have Michael touch his mark. Except, he didn’t have his mark anymore. And it wasn’t on his hand.

 

Michael turned his hand over so Alex could see the outside of his palm and there it was, plain as day. A small green alien head, the logo from the kitschy tourist museum he’d worked at in high school, pressed neatly into his skin. Alex ran a reverent finger over it and felt sparks. How silly he’d been just moments ago to think that it couldn’t get any better. 

 

The two of them ran their fingers over the small mark for a moment before looking at each other. Without a word, Michael toed his right boot off and put his foot up next to Alex’s hip. Both of them grabbed at Michael’s jeans to pull them up and reveal his ankle.

 

There it was - a small guitar, the image unblemished for the first time in a decade. Alex gripped Michael’s ankle and ran a thumb over it, an echo of what Michael used to do to him. Michael’s eyes slid shut at the feeling. After a moment, he put his foot down and the two collided in another kiss.

 

Alex would never be able to say how long they sat there, alternating between fierce kisses and simply sharing the space. What he did know is that at some point, Michael dropped his hands to the table and Alex’s face felt strangely cold and bereft without their touch. Michael pressed his face into Alex’s neck and mumbled something Alex couldn’t make out. Regret filled the bond and Alex worried for a second before Michael leaned back enough to speak clearly.

 

“I’m so fucking late for work.”


End file.
